The former Green Creek property (also known as Bombing Target No. 1) was used by the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946 for the training of pilots stationed at Naval Air Station, Wildwood, New Jersey.
Located in Cape May County, New Jersey (Congressional District NJ-02), the land is publicly and privately owned, and is part of the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge. The property is primarily marsh wetlands and is used for recreational purposes, such as hiking, hunting, and fishing.
The property was originally used as a practice bombing range and later as a practice air-to-ground rocket range. In the spring of 1945, Naval Air Station Wildwood began to use the property to train fighter pilots in F4U “Corsair” fighter bombers. Munitions associated with the site are practice rockets and practice bombs with spotting charges. A military munitions response program (MMRP) site inspection report was issued in 2007, which recommended further investigation.
During field activities forming the basis of the 2007 Site Inspection (SI) Report, no munitions and explosives of concern or munitions debris (MD) were observed. However, the SI Report noted that a former landowner had discovered MD, which was later identified as practice rocket and practice bomb debris. The date of this discovery is unknown. Analytical results of surface soil and sediment sampling for munitions constituents (MC) indicated that lead and zinc exceeded ecological screening values. Based on historical use, past MD findings, and analytical results of sampling for MC, the 2007 SI Report recommends further investigation for the Multiple/Combined Use Range area.
Further remedial investigation will be conducted under the FUDS Program, subject to the availability of funds.
The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is conducting work at the site under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program for Formerly Used Defense Sites (DERP-FUDS).
To read a fact sheet on the project Click Here.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Gregory Goepfert, Project Manager, at (917) 790-8235.